New party goes techno
As soon as MR Chatumongol Sonakul was chosen last Sunday as leader of the Ruamphalang Prachachartthai Party, or Action Coalition for Thailand (ACT), it came as a plot twist for political observers.
The 74-year-old former technocrat won 331 votes during the ACT’s first official meeting on Aug 5 in Bangkok, attended by founding members from all provinces. He was elected as the party leader uncontested.
Shortly after assuming the party leadership, MR Chatumongol, who served as a finance permanent secretary and Bank of Thailand (BoT) governor, was not coy about a possible partnership with the proregime party and the Democrats after the next election.
“It’s possible for us to work with Phalang Pracharat,” he was quoted as saying. The party is believed to be a political machine working to secure Prayut Chan-o-cha’s return as prime minister after the poll.
According to political observers, MR Chatumongol was not considered a contender to lead the ACT.
Since the ACT debuted in early June, with former street protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban agreeing to join the camp, MR Chatumongol was never in the picture as a potential leader. All eyes had been on academic-cumpolitician Anek Laothamatas, one of the party co-founders who was seen as being groomed to lead the new party.
Mr Anek was tipped to lead the ACT and he appeared ready to assume that role on one condition: that he was chosen by the party’s stakeholders.
During the several weeks leading up to the Aug 5 meeting, Mr Anek was on a road show sharing with the press his concept of a “grand coalition” government. If the ACT won a mandate to run the country, he said he would invite opposition parties to take part in the administration’s activities as much as possible.
However, Mr Anek withdrew from the contest when MR Chatumongol was nominated for the role by Mr Suthep. Showering him with praise, Mr Anek described the ex-technocrat as a man with a strong character.
Mr Anek’s withdrawal suggests something may have gone awry.
One theory that has been put forth concerned the possible lack of chemistry between Mr Anek and Mr Suthep, who previously led the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protest movement and is believed to be the de facto leader of the ACT.
Mr Anek, who is also chairman of the government-appointed reform panel on politics, is known to be an avid advocate of national reconciliation and possibly an amnesty plan.
Mr Suthep, on the other hand, is against the amnesty idea. The PDRC street protests in late 2013 and early 2014 were spurred by the Yingluck Shinawatra administration’s push for an amnesty law in parliament that was allegedly intended to absolve her older brother Thaksin, another fugitive former
premier, of charges related to the Ratchadaphisek land case. Another assumption is that Mr Anek has been unable to win over supporters and voters to his political ideology during the last two months of his roadshow, and for that reason he has seen the ACT leadership slip through his fingers.
MR Chatumongol, meanwhile, is a widely respected technocrat, having occupied the top posts at the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand.
He resigned from public service during the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh administration shortly after he was transferred to an advisory position at the PM’s Office reportedly due to his outspokenness and independent views.
He served as the central bank governor from 1998 to May 2001, when he was sacked by the Thaksin Shinawatra government over policy conflicts.
MR Chatumongol also testified against Thaksin in the Ratchadaphisek land case in which the ex-premier was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court.
MR Chatumongol’s strength of character may have struck a chord with Mr Suthep, according to political observers. MR Chatumongol has said he and Mr Suthep are both headstrong.
But leading a party to glory in a general election is no easy task, and will be a whole new playing field for one of the country’s top technocrats, according to observers.